If you ask Pro Football Focus, Diego Pavia isn’t just the spark that Vanderbilt Commodores desperately needed back at quarterback—he’s the best signal-caller in the country through two weeks. That’s right, in a league where bluebloods like Alabama and Georgia stockpile QBs like gold bars, it’s Vanderbilt’s returner transfer-turned-leader who has been turning heads. The Commodores, long treated as an SEC afterthought, suddenly look like they have the game’s most dangerous weapon in their hands.

Before the season began, Diego Pavia wasn’t shy about setting the bar sky-high. He said Vanderbilt’s goal was the College Football Playoff. Against Virginia Tech, he showed why the statement wasn’t empty bravado. That SEC Podcast’s Mike couldn’t hold back his admiration. “Diego Pavia. What a bad–s he is. 12 of 18, 193 yards, two touchdowns. He did have a pick. Vanderbilt started rough. Two turnovers on the first three drives, and then they said, ‘Hell, let’s just score every damn drive the rest of the way.’ They averaged 8.6 yards per play and limited Virginia Tech to 4.1 yards per play. Decimated in rushing, rushing 262 to 114. Hell, brother Vanderbilt is a complete football team.”

And it wasn’t just the offense putting on a show. Vanderbilt’s defense turned the corner, recording 8 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, and forcing two turnovers that flipped into 14 points. That’s complementary football—suffocating on one side, explosive on the other. Mike added, “Are they going to like win the conf? Well, they say they’re going to win the national championship, but all of a sudden, going into South Carolina now, we’ll have all week to talk about that. I got more confidence right now today. South Carolina and Vanderbilt have both played Virginia Tech. South Carolina beat them on a neutral field, but Vanderbilt whooped their a– at Virginia Tech.”

Then there are the numbers, which speak even louder. Diego Pavia carries a 93.0 overall grade through two games, including a 92.4 passing grade and a 75.9 rushing grade. That’s not just good—it’s the best in college football, per PFF. The only one sniffing him is Tennessee’s Joey Aguilar at 92.9. Against VT, Pavia shrugged off an early interception and settled into one of the most efficient games of his career: a 92.4 overall grade, a 91.7 passing mark, and a 71.9 as a runner. Simply put, he was nearly flawless.

The swagger matches the numbers. Pavia rolled into Lane Stadium over two hours before kickoff, headphones blasting A$AP Rocky, and set the mood with the kind of aura usually reserved for Heisman contenders. On the field, his improvisational flip to freshman Kayleb Barnett had NFL scouts in the press box saying “damn.” Plays like that, coupled with his physical edge as a former wrestler, make him the ultimate competitor—a QB who blocks downfield and punishes defenses with grit as much as skill. Now the challenge shifts to South Carolina. It’s a measuring stick, a test of whether Vanderbilt’s renaissance is smoke or fire.

Diego Pavia needs new haters; old ones became fans

Pavia’s performance against Virginia Tech was yet another reminder of why people keep calling him a magician on the field. Sure, it wasn’t the fireworks show his brother Javier had hyped up—“five touchdowns at minimum” was the bold prediction—but there was no shortage of craftsmanship in the way Vanderbilt’s QB1 stitched the night together. He took control after a rocky start, turned mistakes into momentum, and made the Hokies pay for every slip.

What made it sweeter was how teammates rallied around him. Vanderbilt center Jordan White, who once lined up against Pavia in Conference USA and wasn’t exactly fond of him back then, admitted the tide has turned. “He’s amazing,” White said. “Every time I see him, he’s amazing. I love to have him as a quarterback.” That’s not just a compliment—it’s the sound of a locker room buying into its leader.

The numbers told their own story. Pavia threw for 178 yards, rushed for 61, and accounted for two touchdowns, all after handing VT safety Quentin Reddish his first career interception early on. “That kid is as competitive and resilient a person as I’ve ever known,” head coach Clark Lea said. “He did a great job recovering.”